A procedure is proposed to calibrate a generic structured light system, consisting of one camera and one projector. The proposed procedure is based on defining a unique coordinate system for both devices in the structured light system, and thus, a rigidity constraint is introduced into the transformation process. This constraint is used to derivate a simple function for the simultaneous estimation of the parameters, resulting in parameters that are more reliable. The performance of the proposed procedure is shown on examples of the calibration of two different structured light systems. (C) 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.